I think we will get 39 points at least plus superior goal difference. One of the teams below us will totally sink. Probably West Ham & or Southampton, and one team will go on a run and surprise everybody.

Assuming West Brom are down. Which other 2 go as well and which 1 player from each of the 3 teams would you take? Stoke & Southampton to go too. I’d take Burke from West Brom, Allen from Stoke, Lemina from Southampton.

Just wondering a few things….We seem to have the keeper and defence sorted now…..We now look awesome with Shelvey and the rejuvenated Mighty Mo at the heart of mid…..The wings look covered…..Problem is still striker’s and No10. Cannot help wondering what Fulham are doing differently to rejuvenate Mitro when they do not have the same class of players we do? Why can we not use the same tactics to play to Mitro’s obvious strengths, he gets goals FFS, they win games and with our mid and defence sorted surely he would be a better bet than Joselu??? I know its a different game in the championship but Fulham are using him to the fullest effect and I cannot help feeling cheated that we are not capitalising on him at this moment in time. I know having him back would mean having to change the way we played but with respect to the above being sorted surely a man with Rafa’s know how it is possible. When he was signed Shteve was going to build a team around him, he was held i such regard, and he is still a young lad, surely Rafa could mould him into the player we hoped he would be? If his temperament is suspect surely his time in the championship and on international duty should be taken into account. I would hate to see him sold in the summer for what we paid for him and go on to be a big success for some other rival team….look no further than Thorvjn who is playing like a world beater now…..yes I know he was supposed to not want to come here but we could have made him more welcome i’m sure. All in all though much better after that 3-0 win yesterday and for me Shelvey and Mo played brilliantly again, they seem to have found their rhythm together, Shelvey the play maker and Mo the mid field destroyer. Great game by everyone though and a three week gap to at least not fear the drop…..

I was one of the many who couldn’t quite understand why Rafa wanted another keeper but having now seen Dubravka over three games I now realise why. He looks and sounds like a very confident and commanding player. Very similar to Lascelles.

I have to praise Rafa and his coaching staff for the turnaround in performances of Diame and Dummitt. Both players are consistently good.

Dummitt appears to have increased his speed (how I don’t know) as he is rarely left stranded by the opposition winger. His tackling was always robust but with his newly found speed he must be one of the first on Rafa’s team sheet.

Diame showed yet again yesterday how effective and consistent he is in that defensive midfield role alongside Shelvey. Time and time again he broke up the Southampton play. Because of his size he doesn’t need to make rash challenges. He uses his size very effectively.

Shelvey “likely” to stay? Was it ever in doubt. Remember the ridiculous comments earlier in the season when people were saying Merino—after 1 or 2 above average games—was better than Shelvey and Shelvey should be sold.

It’s not that Shelvey has improved drastically since then either. Shelvey is one of the most consistent players in the squad, it is the players that break and move around Shelvey that have improved. Good job Kenedy and Ritchie are hitting some form, still very few goals to speak of from the forwards.

We just can’t win. Before the game, people like me were branded deluded and could expect a reality check after the Souton game for daring to think we could beat them because they don’t loose many games and are difficult to beat on the road .So what is it then, you can’t have it both ways.

I think Shelvey has alot of improving to do when he doesn’t have the ball, he did very well against man utd off the ball and injury or not he let the side down against Bournemouth. If he’s given time and space like yesterday he’ll punish teams.

Speaking about Mitrovic’s good start to life at Fulham, Benitez said: “There are two ways to analyse this. One is Mitrovic is scoring goals in the Championship. It’s good news for him and us. Two, he is playing before the World Cup and he is our player. We then have to discuss his future in May. In May we will see and if he is doing well, fine no problem.”

But Benitez insists that Fulham’s attacking style does not differ from Newcastle’s approach in the Championship last term

He said: “It’s not about style. We were the best team in the Championship and had an offensive style. We scored 85 and conceded 40. We were the best team bar none. We had more shots on target than anyone and we were second on crosses. So everything was there in place. We were an attacking team. Dwight Gayle got 23 goals even with two months out injured. Nobody can complain about our attacking style as we had Gayle, Ritchie and Atsu. You can see the numbers.”

Benitez also made it clear Mitrovic’s omission from the first team at Newcastle was far from a personal issue.

be interesting to see what action fa take re west ham game…if it had been the toon there would be talk of points deduction ……..games behind closed doors ….red cards for players attacking supporters (remember hazard and ballboy incident)…but think maybe a £20 fine suspended will be action fa will take or raising rent to £40 a year

A hattrick from Shelvey? It would be nice but I don’t think he’s scored in the PL since 2015 or 2016.

His game is to create chances and he did that yesterday, Southampton were awful but we can only beat what’s in front of us. I wish all teams came here and refused to press like they did. We got the massive 3 points that were needed.

Btw motm for me was Diame, hands down the best player on the pitch. Then dummett and then kenedy.

Mitrovic is doing much more than scoring. He put in the perfect performance last week. His hold up play was brilliant, his passing, and his defending. There is no possible way anyone could claim Joselu is better. Mitrovic scored for fun in Belgium, got 9 in the premier league, and has a great record internationally.

Slimani is near the end of his career and only did so-so in Portugal so whether he is better than Mitrovic is open for debate.If Mitro was in the Portugese league he’d score 30-40 without a doubt and probably be signed for £50m as is the case with any average player who does well in Portugal. The top scorer in Portugal this year is some 36 yr old Brazilian who has never achieved anything previosuly which shows what a pathetic league it is.

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